Suns’ Mikal Bridges celebrates his Phillies fandom after winning bet with Diamondbacks

PHOENIX — Before Suns forward Mikal Bridges went out to dinner on Monday night, he checked the score of the Phillies-Diamondbacks game. The Phillies were up 7-0. It seemed like a safe enough lead, so he put his phone away.

Then, the texts started rolling in. These weren’t texts from Phillies fans. These were texts from “people who are not Phillies fans who want to make fun of me,” said Bridges.

“I’m like, why are they talking crap?” he said. “Then I saw it was 7-7.”

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It was one of the Phillies’ worst losses of the season, but Bridges showed up to Chase Field the next day anyway, decked out in T-shirt that read “I RIDE WITH PHILLY ROB,” as in interim manager Rob Thomson. He wore a custom-made Diamondbacks jersey over it, but made sure to make his stance known.

“I love Arizona,” Bridges said, “but they’ve got to know who I’m really here for. I’m here for the boys over there.”

Bridges, who turned 26 Tuesday, grew up in Overbrook and moved to Malvern in middle school. He won national championships with Villanova in 2016 and 2018. He has been going to Phillies games since he was 10. He still remembers walking outside his house after the Phillies won the World Series in 2008 and seeing his neighbors go ballistic. He was raised by his grandfather, Isaac, on the Phillies teams of Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino.

It was easier for Bridges to be a Phillies fan when he was actually in the Philadelphia area. In 2018, he was picked 10th overall by the Sixers in the NBA draft but was traded to the Suns 38 minutes later and lost touch with his Phillies fandom. This year, he has rediscovered it, and it has been a beautiful reunion.

Aside from actor Miles Teller, Bridges might be the most famous Phillies fan who is active on Twitter right now. He has become known for his contentious back-and-forth with Utah Jazz guard (and Mets fan) Donovan Mitchell. He has tweeted at Phillies backup catcher Garrett Stubbs.

Bridges is so open with his Phillies fandom that he made a bet with the Diamondbacks — on Twitter — that if the Phillies beat Arizona at home in early June he would come to a Diamondbacks game dressed in full uniform. The Phillies won, which meant the Diamondbacks would have to host Mikal Bridges Appreciation Day at Chase Field the next time his team came to town. He got his day on Tuesday when he watched batting practice and threw out the first pitch before the Phillies’ 12-3 loss.

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Sitting in the Diamondbacks’ dugout on Tuesday afternoon, Bridges couldn’t settle on just one favorite player on the Phillies roster.

“I love Schwarby,” he said of Kyle Schwarber. “I’m happy Jean [Segura] is back. Of course, Bryce [Harper], Nick [Castellanos] is getting it going. But low-key, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott [are my favorites]. The Day Care. Hell, yeah.”

For Bridges, following the Phillies isn’t just a way to reconnect with his home. It’s also a way to be a fan, something he felt he was missing in previous years. He isn’t an Eagles fan — Kurt Warner converted him to Rams fandom — and isn’t a Sixers fan anymore, thanks to his day job. He’s always liked baseball, which leaves the Phillies.

“People are like, you’re not an Eagles fan? You don’t rep none of the Philly teams?” Bridges said. “I’m like, listen, just because I’m not a Sixers fan no more, and not an Eagles fan, doesn’t mean I don’t love the Phillies.”

Unfortunately for Bridges, he got a front-row seat for another deflating loss to the Diamondbacks, a team that always seems to confound the Phillies whenever they play at Chase Field.

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But Bridges is still optimistic.

“October is stamped for right now,” he said. “I think October is like … we’re striving for that. We’re good.”